Our Faculty and Staff - Adjunct Faculty
Steven Belanger, Ph.D., BC-ANCDS
Adjunct faculty member Steven Belanger, Ph.D., BC-ANCDS, teaches a course on aphasia for our department. Dr. Belanger is a Speech-Language Pathologist at New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland. He has 28 years of experience and is board certified by the Academy of Neurogenic Communication Disorders and Sciences. His caseload at New England Rehabilitation hospital consists primarily of individuals with aphasia. In addition to seeing patients, he directs a support group for individuals with aphasia and their families.
Dr. Belanger received his B.S. from Boston University, his M.A. from the University of Minnesota, and his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. He has presented at annual meetings of the American Speech-Hearing-Language Association and the Clinical Aphasiology Conference. He currently serves on the certification board for the Academy of Neurogenic Communication Disorders and Sciences.
Adjunct faculty member Lori Edwards teaches courses in Swallowing and Motor Speech Disorders for our department. Mrs. Edwards received her B.A. in Speech Communication from the University of Maine – Orono in 1983 and her M.S. in Speech Pathology from Northeastern University – Boston in 1985.
She worked with the preschool population and home health for 3 years before starting work at Eastern Maine Medical Center where she has been since 1988. Mrs. Edwards has been senior therapist for 10+ years and manages an inpatient department of 7.
Mrs. Edwards specialty is in the area of swallowing disorders. She is credentialed in FEES and stroboscopy and works to expand swallowing programming at EMMC. She developed an online education module targeting swallowing assessment and treatment to be used by direct care staff at EMMC. Mrs. Edwards lives in Holden with her husband and 2 Springer Spaniels, Max and Samantha.
Adjunct faculty member Julia Mahon, Ed.D. CCC-SLP, has been teaching and working in the field of communications disorders for over 30 years. She received her Masters Degree from the University of Rhode Island and her Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching in Early Childhood Education from Boston University.
Her clinical experience encompasses pediatric to geriatric clients in school, skilled care and private practice settings. She employed the use of play therapy techniques with at-risk and disabled children in a school setting for 14 years, working with teachers, special education professionals, paraprofessionals, parents and adult volunteers in small group and one on one service delivery.
Julia has served as full time faculty in education and special education programs at Salve Regina University and Endicott College. She has also served as an adjunct professor in the Holistic Counseling Program at Salve Regina University. Her professional presentations have ranged from topics related to uses of play therapy techniques to understanding Alzheimer’s Disease from a holistic perspective.
Her current position as a Speech/Language Pathologist with Maine SAD22 encompasses work with middle and high school aged students with needs across the range of communications disorders.
Jim Marcotte, M.A.Mr. Marcotte began his education at Bates College with a B.A. in Psychology in 1992. He went on to receive his M.A. from the University of Maine in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 1996.
Since completing his master’s degree, Mr. Marcotte has worked at Eastern Maine Medical Center. Initially working within acute care and inpatient acute rehabilitation, he transitioned to outpatient rehabilitation after 3 years. Mr. Marcotte has also served on a number of multidisciplinary evaluation teams, including the Learning Disabilities and Developmental Evaluation clinics for the hospital. He is currently the senior speech language pathologist at EMMC’s Maine Rehabilitation Outpatient Center providing direct supervision to 7 therapists. Within his current role, he has had the opportunity to present at Pediatric Grand Rounds on such topics as pragmatic language disorders and service delivery models for outpatient pediatrics.
While having a diverse range of experiences with a variety of patient populations and communication disorders, Mr. Marcotte has a particular interest in the areas of fluency and voice disorders, and pediatrics. He has had advanced training in performing and analyzing videostroboscopic evaluations of laryngeal function and implementation of Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy. He has also attended the Stuttering Foundation of America’s Northeastern Workshop on Fluency.
Adjunct faculty member Lynda Marvin, PhD, CCC-SLP, teaches undergraduate courses in phonetics and phonological development and disorders of speech and language for our department. Dr. Marvin holds a master’s degree in speech-language pathology and a doctorate in vocal physiology from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Before relocating to Maine in 2009, she was associate professor and clinical supervisor in the Department of Communication Disorders at Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, New York, where she co-directed the Speech and Hearing Science Laboratory and taught courses in voice disorders and speech and hearing science. Her clinical background includes ongoing work with the geriatric population in long-term care and rehabilitation settings, and she has served as editor of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Special Interest Group 15 Newsletter, Perspectives on Gerontology.
Adjunct faculty member Carrie Pierce teaches courses in American Sign Language for our department. She received her B.A. in Early Childhood Education and her M.A. in Deaf Education, both from Gallaudet University. She maintains a private practice teaching and tutoring American Sign Language and Deaf Culture and Education for both adults and children who are hearing, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing.
Ms. Pierce is president of Sign-N-Kids, a summer camp for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and their siblings, and for the children of Deaf adults. She also is president of the Bangor Deaf Club, a member of a number of associations, and an advocate for Deaf rights.
Ms. Pierce recently received the the Special Commendation Award from the State of Maine Division of Deafness/Deaf Community of Maine. Presented at the Blaine House in Augusta, this award is given annually during Deaf Culture Week to individuals who have made major contributions to Deaf culture. Ms. Pierce was cited for her development of the SIGN-N-Kids summer day camp and for being an advocate on behalf of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Adjunct faculty member Michael Towey teaches courses on Voice Disorders for our department. A clinician with 25 years experience treating/evaluating disorders of voice and swallowing, Mr. Towey manages the Voice & Swallowing Center of Maine and consults with a Fortune 500 company, implementing a nationwide voice treatment program. He is credentialed in fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) and endoscopic voice evaluation (Laryngeal Stroboscopy).
Mr. Towey has expertise working with professional voice users and has made numerous professional presentations, including ones given at American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Conventions. He received his B.S. from the University of Maine at Farmington in Education (with Honors) and his M.A. in Communication Disorders from the University of Maine. He served as president of the Maine Speech-Language-Hearing Association and lives in Belfast.